Writer: Agatha Christie Adaptor: Ken Ludwig Director: Lucy Bailey There is moustache twiddling aplenty as Agatha Christie’s iconic Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, investigates a poisonous love triangle in this lavish production of Death on the Nile. Ludwig’s adaptation gets us on board the S. S. Karnak, where Poirot and a number of guests are travelling along the Nile as part of a group returning an Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. The omens are pretty obvious from the start, and become even more looming as heiress Linnet (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) and new husband Simon’s (Nye Occomore) are tracked down by stalker Jacqueline, former fiancé…
Author: The Reviews Hub - East Anglia & South East
The Reviews Hub - East Anglia & South East
The South East team is under the editorship of John McRoberts. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.
Director – Phyllida LLoyd Reviewer – Steve Turner With so many great songs and so much of a story to tell it’s quite an accomplishment to manage to fit all of this into a show that runs for about two and a half hours. Domestic abuse, parental abandonment and casual racism would seem to be a difficult fit for a jukebox musical such as this, but the fact that the Tina Turner Musical leaves the audience with a sense of joy is a testament to how well this spectacular show is written and performed. As Tina, Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy brings…
Writer : Robert Louis Stevenson Adaptor: Jake Smith, Director : Kirsty Tallent Cast adrift from its Devon origins, Stevenson’s classic adventure fetches up at the lost town of Dunwich, one of many Suffolk references in Jake Smith’s fast-paced adaptation. This tale of “buccaneers and buried gold” may be less familiar to families these days, but it’s still popular enough to see the Hispaniola dock twice in the county town this year. The cruder comedy version at the Wolsey was a hit this summer. And expectations were high at Eastern Angles after last year’s brilliant Christmas Carol. Many of the same creatives…
Writer: Joe Tracini Director: Andrew Lynford Norwich Theatre Royal’s Christmas Pantomime returns with Cinderella, a production that delivers plenty of familiar panto charm. This year written by and featuring Joe Tracini, the show is a welcome and noticeable step up from the previous year, delivering a performance that feels brighter, bolder, and more cohesive than its predecessor. There’s a clear sense of increased investment onstage, both in production polish and in narrative flow, and it makes for a more satisfying festive outing. As Cinderella, Georgia May Foote delivers a warm, charming performance, pairing an easy likeability with vocals that glide…
Writer and Director: Paul Hendy There are few Christmas traditions better, or more dazzling, than the dazzling Marlowe Theatre panto, which makes yet another triumphant return this festive season with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It is a pantomime full of fun gags and popular culture references, including a brilliant, The Traitors-inspired surprise, with one terrific cameo for the Magic Mirror that instantly delights. Yet what it also succeeds in is retaining the charm and spirit of the Marlowe Theatre pantomimes that have come before it. Writer and director Paul Hendy brings together a good blend of familiar gags (such…
Composer: Grant Olding Director/Choreographer: Drew McOnie Northern Ballet’s Merlin brings myth and magic to the stage in a production that’s both accessible and grand in scope. Drawing on Arthurian legend, it tells the story of the young sorcerer caught between gods and mortals, duty and destiny, as kingdoms clash and prophecies unfold. What could easily become a tangled web of fantasy instead becomes a surprisingly human tale of courage, belonging, and the price of power. Visually, the production is spectacular. The set design (Colin Richmond) opens up a realm that feels both otherworldly and grounded, with twilight forests and shifting…
Book: Joseph Stein Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Music: Jerry Bock Director: Jordan Fein Rundown peasant Tevye faces a revolution outside and inside his home in this mesmerising revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The touring production brings the acclaimed Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and later at the Barbican, version of the musical around the country, and shines with a combination of gorgeous design, terrific choreography and a stellar cast who evoke the community and hardship as their marginalised Jewish characters in a Soviet backwater, with violent persecution never too far away. What begins as a simple story about a man,…
Book: Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins Director: Phyllida Lloyd Few musicians had as torrid and troublesome a journey as Tina Turner. Surviving an abusive relationship with the brutal Ike Turner, navigating motherhood and desperately trying to establish her own voice are all hurdles the icon overcomes, and more, in this powerful portrayal of Turner not just as a star, but as a survivor too. Taking on the unenviable task of emulating the star, Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi shines in bringing to the fore not just Turner’s charisma but her vulnerabilities, too. Vocally, it takes a little while for…